NORTH KITSAP — A couple was awakened early Friday morning when an SUV apparently went airborne and landed about 175 feet from the road, slammed into the side of their house.
The 24-year-old man was not injured, nor was anyone in the house, said Ryan Heacock, who said it was the seventh time a car had missed the almost 90-degree turn off Hood Canal Drive south of Hansville, and either ended up in his yard, or his neighbor’s.
He theorized the SUV was able to achieve such loft because it avoided hitting a larger SUV parked in the driveway and then apparently rocketed off a handicapped access ramp.
The crash was captured on tape by a security camera mounted on the exterior of the house. The Ford Explorer driven by the 24-year-old is seen vaulting horizontally at the structure. The house is made from a type of insulating concrete forms, known as Quad-lock, about 16 inches thick.
“It bounced that Explorer off like a little toy,” Heacock said.
North Kitsap Fire and Rescue personnel, along with Kitsap County deputies, were called to the scene shortly before 4 a.m. A sheriff’s office report had not been completed by Friday afternoon, said office spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson.
The man left the ruins of his SUV and apologized to the couple, Heacock said. The man said he had fallen asleep at the wheel. He was taken from the scene by emergency medical personnel.
Despite the rude awakening, and the damage to the house and yard, Heacock said the suspect was respectful.
“He was a very nice kid,” Heacock said.